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TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | MARCH 20-MARCH 26, 2020 5
BY BIANCA SILVA
CUNY’s campuses were significantly
emptier than usual Thursday
as students and faculty prepare to fully
transition to “distance learning” for
the remainder of the spring semester
beginning March 19 amid the coronavirus
outbreak.
Governor Andrew Cuomo announced
on March 11 that all City University
of New York campuses will be
suspending all in-person classes for the
semester following a John Jay student
testing positive for the illness and outcry
from students and faculty to close
down.
CUNY’s dorms, libraries, research
facilities, daycare centers and laboratories
will remain open during and after
the instructional recess. For students,
the news brings major ramifications
that will impact them for months to
come.
Carlos Ocana, a sophomore biology
major at Queens College, is already feeling
the consequences of the announcement.
He was in class when he found
out he wouldn’t be going to school anymore
and emphasized the need for faceto
face interaction with professors.
“I like asking my teachers questions
during their office hours because sometimes
I don’t get it,” he said. “Biology is
hard and I need extra help and I can’t do
that anymore. It’s only going to be online
and I feel that’s the whole point of going
to college. If not, then anyone would just
take online classes. It sucks.”
Ocana works at the “Corner Pocket”
game room on the Flushing campus and
mostly relies on his work study job to
help him pay for his tuition. An empty
campus may lead him to look elsewhere
for income.
“Work study is sometimes the only
main source of income,” he said during
his shift. “Luckily for me, I have another
job, but it’s a backup. I’m trying
to look for another job because I don’t
think this is going to go on for a long
time. My boss actually told me that on
Friday, they’re going to let us know if
we’re still going to work here.”
Ocana mentions how his weekend
job at an Astoria restaurant isn’t
enough to cover tuition and bus expenses
despite receiving some federal
aid that eases the stress of attending
school.
Similarly, for Camille Ryan, a
second semester nursing student at
Queensborough Community College in
Bayside, is scared that the transition
to distance learning classes will sidetrack
her goal of graduating on time
next year.
“I was just concerned for my graduation
date from the program,” she said.
“Was I going to be held back? Was I going
to have to restart this semester? Everything
was just up in the air as far as
what’s going to happen regarding my
nursing program.”
Ryan moonlights as a flight attendant
on the weekends, and worries that
the 30-day European travel ban imposed
by President Donald Trump on
March 11 will affect her ability to work
on an airline for the foreseeable future
and pay for her courses.
“How long is this going to last? Is
there a timeline? I don’t know,” she
said.
Ryan’s classmate Jack Wong, who
is also a second semester nursing student,
was frustrated when he learned
that the shift to online courses would
be long term — potentially putting a
damper on his plans to take summer
courses on campus.
He’s worried that distance learning
classes will deter him from gaining the
necessary skills such as assessing a patient
and learning to draw blood in the
field.
“It would definitely have a negative
effect because you have clinicals in part
of nursing and we’re not getting that,”
he said. “We’re probably not going to go
to a hospital. I’m not sure yet. I feel like
our clinical skills aren’t going to be as
good going into next semester.”
The Queensborough Community College campus is empty a day after the announcement was made.
Photo by Bianca Silva
Queens CUNY students react to cancellation of in-person classes
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